Phoenix’s Wright laments missing son’s 1st birthday
MANILA, Philippines – It is one thing to miss some gatherings outside in the real world, but it’s another to not be around for the very first birthday of your son while holed up inside the bubble.
Admittedly, that’s just one of the exceptions why men, even hulking basketball players, cry sometimes.
Phoenix Super LPG star guard Matthew Wright, like all proud dads, is no different.
“I was really sad waking up knowing that. The first birthday is always very special and I hate to see that I cried just thinking about it,” said the 29-year-old ace.
“The only way I can make this better was to dedicate my performance for him. I’m sure he was watching, I don’t know if he understood what I was saying. But when he gets older, hopefully he'll look back and he'll forgive me for not being in his pictures on his first birthday.”
With an added inspiration, the Filipino-Canadian gunner indeed delivered a fitting performance in Phoenix’s massive 91-84 come-from-behind win over Magnolia after trailing as many as 17 points.
Wright unloaded 23 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals for the Fuel Masters, who halted a two-game slide to improve to 3-2 midway through the 2020 Philippine Cup restart here.
But as tough as it was to miss his son’s birthday, Wright said it’s nothing compared to the sacrifices of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) who have to endure the time away from their families far longer than two months like their slated stay in the bubble
"It's an amazing sacrifice and it's so hard to be away from your family. And we're only doing it for a couple of months so we got to man up,” he shared.
“I was just thinking about them. Everybody is going through it. I'm sure everybody has a child or a mom, a sibling or wife who has a birthday that they're gonna miss so I can't feel too sorry for myself, JC (Intal) also... and his daughter's birthday is coming up soon too. Everybody's going through it so you just have to suck it up."
Wright touched into the heartstrings of every Filipino amid these trying times.
And he could not be right enough.
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